The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, described the election atmosphere in Bangladesh as "repressive" and said that he is "deeply disturbed".
"I am deeply disturbed by the repressive environment surrounding upcoming elections despite our several calls on authorities to urgently end the crackdown on political activists and civil society actors," he said on his official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle on Friday.
"I reiterate my earlier calls to refrain from excessive use of police force, violence and criminalization of CSOs, protesters and opposition in a bid to silence dissent," said Voule.
"Authorities have the duty to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and association and the right to political participation, ahead of, during and after elections," he added.
The 12th national polls is scheduled to be held on Sunday.